Chad9 Posted May 7, 2020 Share Posted May 7, 2020 Bought this 1983 F350 w/460 V8 late last fall for weekend projects. Truck is bone stock other than the carb. Started great, ran fine during occasional winter use. I have noticed now that the weather is warming up that it does not like to start quite as nice when restarting after use (like restarting after coming back out of a store). When trying to restart in this manner, the engine turns, but will not fire up unless I floor the gas pedal (which i do not have to do on a cold start). It has not yet totally refused to start but it is also not that hot yet. After it does start, the idle is erractic and lower than normal until driven for a few minutes. The prior owner said the only issue he ran into with the truck was once on a hot day when towing the truck just shut down while running, acting like a vapor lock situation. Restarted fine once cooled down. This has not happened to me yet. I want to resolve this issue so I can confidently drive this beasty this summer. What have I done to the truck so far: Valve covers, air filter, pcv valve, spark plugs, fuel filter, all belts, radiator cap, 180 deg thermostat, upper radiator hose, My plan: I have fuel line insulation on the way. Noted that the fuel lines did feel very hot the other day after a half hour run. If this does not resolve, I will check the fuel pressure coming from the in tank electric pump for the 4.3 psi i saw somewhere here that the pressure is supposed to be. I will advise if these things work or if I need more ideas from the group here. Feel free to ask for any clarifications, I am sure I left some important details out. I also need to fix the oil filter adapter which sprung a leak from the mounting bolt this weekend. These trucks keep us busy, don't they? Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1986F150Six Posted May 7, 2020 Share Posted May 7, 2020 These trucks keep us busy, don't they? Thanks! Gary Lewis likens this to "peeling the layers of an onion"! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
delco1946 Posted May 7, 2020 Share Posted May 7, 2020 I’ve been having the same issue since last week after getting my carb rebuilt. Folks on here were suggesting it’s possibly a choke issue since it’s acting like it’s flooded. Once I’m done moving loads of dirt I’m taking it back to the shop to get it looked at and can post here what I find out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1986F150Six Posted May 7, 2020 Share Posted May 7, 2020 I’ve been having the same issue since last week after getting my carb rebuilt. Folks on here were suggesting it’s possibly a choke issue since it’s acting like it’s flooded. Once I’m done moving loads of dirt I’m taking it back to the shop to get it looked at and can post here what I find out. For any forum member who might not be used to carburetors, it is not uncommon to have to make seasonal adjustments to the choke. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Lewis Posted May 7, 2020 Share Posted May 7, 2020 Chad - It does sound like the choke may be set too rich, and coming on too soon and/or far while the engine is too warm. That’s what David was suggesting re the seasonal adjustments. However that doesn’t account for it stalling when being driven. That does seem more like vapor locking. Take a look at the Hot Fuel Handling tab here: http://www.garysgaragemahal.com/460-fuel-systems.html. Your ‘83 may not have that. In fact, I’m not sure yours will have the in-tank pump as the early ones frequently didn’t. If your insulation doesn’t solve that problem you’ll need to determine if it really is a fuel problem or ignition as the ignition systems can fail when hot. But if it is fuel and if you don’t have the Hot Fuel setup then you might consider creating your own - a return style regulator. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chad9 Posted May 7, 2020 Author Share Posted May 7, 2020 Chad - It does sound like the choke may be set too rich, and coming on too soon and/or far while the engine is too warm. That’s what David was suggesting re the seasonal adjustments. However that doesn’t account for it stalling when being driven. That does seem more like vapor locking. Take a look at the Hot Fuel Handling tab here: http://www.garysgaragemahal.com/460-fuel-systems.html. Your ‘83 may not have that. In fact, I’m not sure yours will have the in-tank pump as the early ones frequently didn’t. If your insulation doesn’t solve that problem you’ll need to determine if it really is a fuel problem or ignition as the ignition systems can fail when hot. But if it is fuel and if you don’t have the Hot Fuel setup then you might consider creating your own - a return style regulator. I think I do have the hot start, i have the "T" in the metal fuel line close to where the line goes into the carb and I have the electric fuel pump. Probably because the truck was AC equipped? I will look into adjusting the choke if the insulation doesn't work, but this process will be a new one for me. Something I could use to learn though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ArdWrknTrk Posted May 7, 2020 Share Posted May 7, 2020 I think I do have the hot start, i have the "T" in the metal fuel line close to where the line goes into the carb and I have the electric fuel pump. Probably because the truck was AC equipped? I will look into adjusting the choke if the insulation doesn't work, but this process will be a new one for me. Something I could use to learn though. Ford had three of those vapor separators. They were coded with a blue, red or white dot. Different orifice sizes. One had a 0.090" hole and was meant as retrofit for vehicles with fuel problems. This kept cool gasoline circulating from the tank. The other two were 0.045" & 0.065" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NZCOBRA Posted May 7, 2020 Share Posted May 7, 2020 Ford had three of those vapor separators. They were coded with a blue, red or white dot. Different orifice sizes. One had a 0.090" hole and was meant as retrofit for vehicles with fuel problems. This kept cool gasoline circulating from the tank. The other two were 0.045" & 0.065" Also another good thing to do is add a 1/2" phenolic spacer under the carb , fuel could be boiling in there , make sure your fuel pressure is correct , fuel inlet control valves, aren't leaking causing a high float level , and set the float level . Cheers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chad9 Posted May 11, 2020 Author Share Posted May 11, 2020 Also another good thing to do is add a 1/2" phenolic spacer under the carb , fuel could be boiling in there , make sure your fuel pressure is correct , fuel inlet control valves, aren't leaking causing a high float level , and set the float level . Cheers Ran again this weekend after doing some fuel line insulating. Did fine on the Menard's run. Started decent when I came out of the store. To be fair it was relatively cool (50F) so it will be better tested once it warms up. Truck still stumbles off the line a bit, frustrating because it is very intermittent. I never know which stop sign it will sputter pulling away from. Still need to check the fuel pressure from the electric pump and then on to the choke. I did note after a drive that the choke plate is wide open at rest, which i would believe as it should be... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ArdWrknTrk Posted May 11, 2020 Share Posted May 11, 2020 Ran again this weekend after doing some fuel line insulating. Did fine on the Menard's run. Started decent when I came out of the store. To be fair it was relatively cool (50F) so it will be better tested once it warms up. Truck still stumbles off the line a bit, frustrating because it is very intermittent. I never know which stop sign it will sputter pulling away from. Still need to check the fuel pressure from the electric pump and then on to the choke. I did note after a drive that the choke plate is wide open at rest, which i would believe as it should be... Yup, the choke should be open if the engine is warmed up. We have carburetors... which, honestly, is like a toilet. The pump just fills the tank (float bowl) and the engine draws from the bottom of that reservoir. A fuel pump starvation problem is when it starts breaking up while running wfo for some time. The pump can't keep up and the bowl is eventually drained. I've never heard of an intermittent accelerator pump issue, but it could be the check ball is hanging up on some crud. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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